Alberta faces do-or-die match against B.C. Thursday night after tough loss to Team Canada

Team Alberta lost to undefeated Team Canada Thursday afternoon by a 9-8 score. (Photo:Twitter@team_skrlik)

Alberta will be playing a likely do-or-die game Thursday night when it takes on British Columbia at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts after dropping a close one to Team Canada's Kerry Einarson earlier in the day.

Einarson took out an Alberta rock on her final throw in the 10^th end to snap an 8-8 tie and give Team Canada a 9-8 win over Team Skrlik at the championship tournament in Kamloops, B.C.

It was a tough loss for the Alberta rink, which fought back to tie things up after Einarson hung a four spot on them in the sixth end, allowing Team Canada to sprint to a 7-4 advantage.

The loss to Canada was Alberta's first after winning four-in-a-row to improve their record to 4-2.

The top three teams in each draw advance to the playoffs. Alberta is currently in a four-way tie for third with a 4-3 record alongside B.C., Wild Card #1 and Nova Scotia.

Canada sits atop Pool A with a perfect 7-0 record, while Quebec is second at 5-2.

Team Alberta congratulate Team Canada after dropping a 9-8 decision Thursday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops. (Photo: Twitter@TSNCurling)

With Alberta taking on B.C.'s Clancy Grandy and Nova Scotia's Kristina Black taking on Quebec's Laurie St. Georges, Thursday night's results could go a long way in determining which rinks continue to play meaningful games in the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Lethbridge skip Casey Scheidegger's Wild Card #2 team takes on Ontario's Rachel Holman at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Wild Card #2 have a 3-4 record, while Holman's Ontario rink sits in third place at 5-2.